Wenger at the crossroads

Two wins in a week, but there's no denying that Arsenal's manager has problems to solve. Reluctant to spend his club's millions, citing a distaste for 'financial doping' - in other words, Chelsea - Arsene Wenger will surely have to think again if he is to lead his side back to the top. Amy Lawrence reports

Let's play a variation on fantasy football for a moment. You have a heavyweight budget, but in this game you don't have to build an entire team, just simply enhance a squad already at your disposal. Sound like fun?

Curiously, a real version of this game did not appeal to Arsene Wenger last summer. Despite hard-luck stories doing the rounds that his club have no transfer funds because every penny is channelled towards their new stadium, he is actually sitting on a generous war chest. 'We are as strong as we have ever been in that regard,' said one of Arsenal's directors last week. 'It's up to the guy,' he shrugged, nodding at his enigmatic manager. Much as the board wanted to get the chequebook out, the guy preferred not to and that was that.

During the close season, it was obvious Arsenal's squad was capable of pushing on to ask some serious questions of Chelsea, provided they were bolstered by a handful of top-quality additions. Wenger went for Julio Baptista. He tried for Robinho. He signed Alexander Hleb. But he sold Patrick Vieira. And then? A couple of loans, for the teenager Alexandre Song and forgotten goalkeeper Mart Poom. Otherwise nothing. Millions remained untouched. Arsenal must be the only club in the world where the owners implore the manager to spend some money.

An embarrassingly lightweight start to the campaign renders Wenger's parsimony completely mystifying. What is it all about? A clue, perhaps, comes in the words he famously chose to describe the effect Roman Abramovich's spending has had on Chelsea. 'Financial doping', is a term Wenger coined with deliberate insinuation. We are left under no illusions that he detests the way the football market has been distorted.

It is not necessarily a coincidence that Wenger has been put right off shopping at a time when Chelsea so easily dominate the business of buying players. A purist at heart, his spendthrift policy looks like a reaction to the Abramovich strategy.

Philippe Auclair, France Football magazine's London correspondent, is struck by a comparison to the days when Wenger was manager of Monaco and had to contend with a complicated enemy down the coast at Olympique Marseille - Bernard Tapie. 'When Abramovich arrived and started spending, Arsene felt as if he was going back in time to when his opponent was Tapie's Marseille. He felt there was nothing much he could do against this man and his methods,' says Auclair.

Tapie was a multimillionaire who assembled the most expensive team in France and was also guilty of bullying tactics and corruption, which eventually resulted in a prison sentence for match-fixing. The playing field was evidently unfair.

'It's not to say Abramovich uses the same methods as a guy who is a convicted criminal, but Arsene feels he is dealing with a similar situation, with the fight weighted against him,' adds Auclair. 'He has a big problem with the regulations which allow a club like Chelsea to run at a deficit. In France, with a balance sheet like theirs, they would be in receivership. No other manager is as aware of the global economics of football. Arsene knows Arsenal can't fight Abramovich with the same weapons. So he feels he has a moral obligation to show that he can succeed another way. He is consciously trying to make a winning team, rather than buy it.'

Wenger himself alluded to the concept at the club's AGM last week. Talking about his reluctance to buy English players, he said: 'The way we operate is to create values at the club and they can be shared wherever somebody comes from. Arsenal is special because Arsenal is about values.'

The principles are all very romantic. But - for the moment at least - they are not working. The early season has been a story of patched-up teams, young players struggling to do men's jobs and a nagging predictability to their gameplan. Their problems have been most damningly exposed away from home. Where Arsenal were recently robust enough to finish two out of the past four Premiership seasons unbeaten on their travels, their record this term reads: Played 4, Won 0, Drawn 1, Lost 3.

According to the latest punditry cliche, 'Arsenal have been found out.' Anyone with a modicum of tactical nous now knows that playing with two banks of four smothers their passing game. It has, it must be said, been significantly easier to find Arsenal out considering their five best players in recent years - the three French musketeers of Thierry Henry, Patrick Vieira and Robert Pires, plus Sol Campbell and Ashley Cole - have been, for one reason or another, out the picture.

If the difference in top-level football depends upon minor details, minuscule percentages, then Arsenal's weaknesses are easily explained by the following: Henry's injury, Vieira's sale, Pires's contract dispute and subsequent lack of focus, Campbell's physical and psychological ailments, Cole's tapping-up case. Five of the best, all below their best. On planet football, only Chelsea have the resources to cope with that.

Although Wenger remains convinced he has a squad capable of challenging this season, his judgment on a couple of critical issues has let him down. He underestimated the deep loss of Patrick Vieira - as much as a figurehead and a presence at the club as for his contribution on the field - and he underestimated the readiness of the young players upon whom he has staked his reputation. While it would be churlish to lambast players such as Philippe Senderos, Cesc Fabregas and Robin van Persie, all of whom are talented enough to reach greater heights, it's a fact that none of his brightest young things are playing with the brio that so caught the eye at the end of last season.

So what to do? Is it a case of hanging in there until January and then reeling in reinforcements? Wenger indicated that he would address the balance of the squad when the transfer window opens and there has never been more impetus for him to buy boldly than now.

For the Arsenal number crunchers, the idea of moving into their plush new home next summer without Champions League football, or without Henry, just does not bear thinking about. As Wenger himself said: 'What is the point of moving into a beautiful new stadium if you don't fill it with fans and world-class players?'

Replacing Vieira is a priority. Both for the team and as a signal to Henry that Arsenal mean business. The best man for the job would have been Michael Essien, who Wenger had been tracking for some time, but he was Abramoviched. The next best thing on the market who ticks the boxes bringing skill, physical presence and personality to midfield is Michael Ballack. The Germany captain may be a target for Manchester United, and he may be unwilling to move six months before a World Cup on home soil, but that shouldn't preclude an ambitious January bid, or even a pre-contract agreement for next season.

Wenger's stubbornness and principles suggest he will not be pushed to do what he does not want to do. His past successes, in enabling Arsenal to punch above their weight and celebrate famous triumphs before Chelsea began to flex their unmatchable muscle, has earned him the right to follow his instincts without anyone at the club challenging him. They wouldn't dare.

When standing up to address the AGM on the back of the worst start to a season in more than a decade, a manager might have braced himself for a boo, a heckle or, in the case of a club like Arsenal, perhaps some uncomfortable squirming in seats. But as Wenger got to his feet, he was greeted by an ovation so vigorous he couldn't speak over the din for a whole minute.

There isn't a manager of a high-profile club anywhere in the world who wields as much control as Wenger. He is the autonomous decision maker. He is the cult leader. He is absolutely fireproof. Ask yourself this: what would it take for him to be sacked? Such is his influence at Arsenal that even if they were relegated he would still inspire a ripple of applause at the AGM.

Nevertheless, Wenger wakes up this morning with very different questions to ponder than he did one year ago. Rewind 12 months to the day and there was lightness in his step as he got up and drove to London Colney for a light training session before travelling with his team to Old Trafford. They hadn't lost for 49 games.

Wenger is an intelligent enough man to realise that a slip from the electric standards of a year ago was inevitable. What he didn't realise was how hard the fall would be.

The problems at Highbury are nothing that a clutch of excellent signings and a contract extension autographed by Henry can't put right. Only one man can make these things happen. As the director said: 'It's up to the guy.'

Winners or losers: how Arsenal's fortunes have changed in a year

October 2003-2004

Arsenal go the entire season undefeated, the 'modern invincibles' emulate Preston's team from 1889. And they keep on running into the new season.

An ensuing blip eases when three young players - Fabregas, Senderos, Van Persie - come to the fore.

They win the FA Cup on penalties despite an awful performance.

Patrick Vieira is sold.

A feeble start to the season emphasised by three defeats out of four away in the Premiership.

There's relief in Europe, as Arsenal gain maximum points.

Thierry Henry becomes Arsenal's record goalscorer, but still needs reassurance before committing to extending his contract.

October2005-2006

What does Wenger need to focus on in the next 12 months?

George Graham, Arsenal manager 1986-1995

'He's had a fantastic record in finishing in the top two every year but all good records come to an end. Now he's got to build another Arsenal team. The core of the team has got to be strengthened right through the middle. He needs a commanding centre-half - when Sol's fit it's no problem but he picks up too many injuries. He needs a holding midfielder to boss the game in the way Vieira did, which may be an expensive one. He needs another goalscorer so there is not so much focus on Henry, and he'll need a new keeper soon. Can Arsene do it? He has made players world-class before so there's no reason why he can't do it again.'

Clive Anderson, TV host and season ticket holder

'He should concentrate on extending Thierry Henry's contract, offering an olive branch to Ashley Cole and extending Dennis Bergkamp's career by one more year. And he could go crazy and get an exotic player in the team, like someone from England.'

Kevin Whitcher, The Gooner

'He's got to sign a different kind of player because we are too predictable. When Alan Hansen tells teams how to stop us on Match of the Day you know you're in trouble. West Ham, West Brom and Middlesbrough did it, the kind of teams we'd expect to see off, and if these teams can stop us, who can't? The playing staff is too thin in terms of experience and leadership.'

Erik Bielderman, L'Equipe

'His priority is to keep Thierry Henry. He has to convince Henry that the right move is to stay and that's more about giving a boost to the squad than a financial boost to Henry. He needs to sign experienced players who can help Arsenal fight for the Champions League. Thierry is desperate to win it and when you have Real Madrid and Barcelona in the wings it is difficult to ignore them. I have the feeling Arsenal will struggle to keep Henry.'